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How Marijuana Became a Real Estate Play; The Marijuana Index Releases Investor Survey

Carlsbad, CA / ACCESSWIRE / March 5, 2014 / As The Marijuana Index swiftly becomes the top resource for marijuana investors, MarijuanaIndex.org launched an investor survey today to prepare for a wave of enhancements and pending announcements. Investors and site visitors are urged to participate in the survey, which can be completed in five minutes or less by visiting the following link:

The sole purpose of the survey is to improve MarijuanaIndex.org to further cater to investors – the index team believes page views could exceed 1,000,000 in the month of March, with as many as 500,000 or more unique visitors expected.

Visitors who have signed up for the newsletter can expect e-mails to commence within the next week.

As the Dow Jones, NASDAQ, and S&P 500 all continued their bullish trend – Tuesday marked an interesting day in marijuana-related equities. The Marijuana Index dipped slightly to close at $51.91 as shares of CannaVest dropped 8.72%. As detailed by popular cannabis analyst Alan Brochstein of TheDailyDab.com and 420 Investor, the sector experienced multiple double-digit advancers including Advanced Cannabis Solutions, Zoned Properties, and Vape Holdings – with no double-digit decliners.

A popular trend to watch in the marijuana sector is the use of real estate leverage in funding transactions. Initially made popular by Advanced Cannabis Solutions (OTCQB: CANN) through a deal with Full Circle Capital Corp. for up to $30 million, The Marijuana Index is tracking several companies using real estate to get deals done in the quest to create shareholder value.

Leveraging real estate as a public issuer is a savvy move – as companies balance perceived risk of owning actual cannabis operations in light of federal policies, funding structured with real property is a “safer” medium for institutional investment.

Instead of owning the actual growing operation or dispensary, investment risk may be mitigated through various methods backed by real estate... somewhat akin to a “sale-leaseback” once made popular in the energy sector (i.e. a “green” energy company might spread the cost of a new power facility over the course of 20 years, with payments funded by a power purchase agreement, or PPA).

Several examples of marijuana companies using real estate are showing up in company press releases, some of which are listed below.

GrowLife (OTCQB: PHOT) announced its first “G.I.F.T.” transaction in Colorado on Tuesday. After expanding their capital structure to accommodate new deals in February, GrowLife partnered with LEAF Aspen, a popular company in Colorado’s popular vacation destination. The GrowLife Infrastructure Funding and Technology Program (G.I.F.T.) “allows fully-licensed and compliant growers and dispensaries in well-regulated cannabis markets to spread the cost of infrastructure builds over time.”

In this particular transaction, GrowLife collaborated with LEAF Aspen and Articulated Investors, who invested in real estate on behalf of LEAF Aspen as part of the deal. Jake Schrader, Co-President of New York based Articulated Investors, stated “we have enormous confidence in their (LEAF Aspen’s) ability to manage the complexities of a state of the art cultivation facility.”

Although terms were not immediately available in the press release, the language reveals that GrowLife may occasionally partner with REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) or commercial real estate lenders, as part of their G.I.F.T. Program. Shares of GrowLife (OTCQB: PHOT) closed the day Tuesday up 2.8% on strong volume.

In the Real Estate Zone

Zoned Properties (OTC Pink: ZDPY), a strategic real estate investment firm whose primary focus is acquiring commercial properties that face unique zoning challenges, continued its run from February on Tuesday. On February 19th, the company announced an agreement for an 83,000 square foot facility in downtown Tempe, for the purchase price of $4.6 million. Shares of Zoned Properties finished Tuesday at $20.80, a big jump from their closing price of $6.95 on February 19th. The company stated plans to close the transaction within 60 days of the initial press release. Zoned Properties is clearly positioning themselves as a real estate developer, lessor, and or funder for cannabis companies.

The Marijuana Index is watching a little-known newcomer, who recently changed their focus toward real estate deals in the cannabis space, entitled “Cannabis-RX” (OTCQB: CANA). Investors are cautioned that no retail market has taken shape for the company, which shows a current ask of $100,000 a share and bid price of $3.60 – a nasty spread to say the least. A filing from the company details their recent symbol and name change.

The website, which resembles more of a “splash” page for now, details that the company has recently completed a $12,000,000 financing – and that it “intends to deploy capital in light industrial and commercial properties suited for the needs of growers, suppliers, or distributors of licensed marijuana and ancillary type products.”

The Marijuana Index expects the real estate trend in marijuana deals to expand further as investors determine creative ways to utilize the underlying "real" asset for growing operations, dispensaries, and other businesses in the sector.

The Marijuana Index Releases Investor Survey

The Marijuana Index requests all readers who track the index, or are interested in the future of the index and related possibilities, to participate in The Marijuana Index Survey. Five minutes will ensure that the future of The Marijuana Index reflects your desires as an investor or observer:

Partnered with Cannabis Financial Network (www.CannabisFN.com), The Marijuana Index is the first and only registered equity tracking index for marijuana stocks, cannabis stocks, and hemp stocks – providing investors and listed companies with dynamic market data and streaming content. Currently representing more than thirty publicly traded issuers, The Marijuana Index provides marijuana investors and interested observers with a medium for research, charts, and a centralized news source. Readers are urged to visit www.marijuanaindex.org for up-to-date information and to sign up for updates. Follow The Marijuana Index on Twitter @MarijuanaIndex. As the index integrates several improvements, investor and site visitor feedback is requested by visiting this link:

The Marijuana Index (MJX Marijuana Index) is a data aggregation service and does not provide promotional efforts, other than future sponsorship or visual advertisements, unless otherwise noted. The Marijuana Index does not offer investment advice. Readers are cautioned against using information obtained from The Marijuana Index as a basis for any investment decision. The Marijuana Index makes no warranties or representations as to the accuracy of posted or streamed information. For more information on our disclaimer, visit www.MarijuanaIndex.org and click on “About Us” and “Disclaimer.” The Marijuana Index was not paid by any companies listed within this press release, but reserves the right to buy or sell shares in listed companies without notice. The word “registered” above as it relates to the index is not meant to imply registration with the SEC – The Marijuana Index is registered with leading financial content provider Quotemedia with the ticker ^MMJ.

INCLUSION IN THE MARIJUANA INDEX DOES NOT IMPLY THAT DUE DILIGENCE OR EVALUATION ON ANY LEVEL HAS BEEN CONDUCTED ON LISTED COMPANIES.